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cbking's review
4.0
As wonderfully written as every Jane Smiley novel, this one was not the best beach book. Really rather depressing, but I was still quite taken in my the protagonist, even as I shook my head at her passivity.
elkit's review
3.0
I found the characters interesting, and enjoyed the setting (local to where I live), but the writing didn't come together for me, and the ending was disappointing. A bitter remark, really, that's all?
ldv's review
3.0
The author was smart to give you some of the ending of the story at the beginning of the book (hint for all those who sin by reading the last pages or chapter first: the author makes you do so here, so don't bother). The story then goes back (40-50? years) and starts at the "beginning." The names and objects mentioned in the prologue are the only things really that helped pull me through the book. As the items are encountered you almost check them off. Otherwise there is little overt conflict to propel the story. It's simply the account of one woman's life, mostly regarding her dull marriage to a astronomer/physicist who sees conspiracy theories around him. Her character is very interesting, and there a good sense of the history of the time period (late 1800/early 1900), but it's nothing too exciting.
sstallryan's review
3.0
This was a great book in that it really drew me in. Smiley is so great with introducing and developing characters. After a while, though, I started to wonder when the plot would start to move. In my opinion it never really did. At the end I wasn't quite sure why I'd read the whole book. Probably because it was so well-written but the story-line kind of seemed flat and boring. Almost like reading a book about my own life.
gossamerchild's review
3.0
Again, this is probably one I would've given a 3.5 stars. I'm getting a little tired of these measly three...
Anyway, this book was...sort of odd. Very slow paced, character-driven novel about one women in the late 19th century and the bigger-than-life man she married. My biggest beef with the story was that I never really got a feel for the woman until the last quarter of the book. Granted, that was probably the point. The story was really about Margaret and Andrew's marriage, and all the restrictions placed on her by the culture, family expectations, and even what she let herself fall victim to. The husband, Andrew, is never abusive, but his personality dominates everything, including the story itself. And it ends so abruptly. Really extraordinary writing, though. Not sure I really liked the characters.
Anyway, this book was...sort of odd. Very slow paced, character-driven novel about one women in the late 19th century and the bigger-than-life man she married. My biggest beef with the story was that I never really got a feel for the woman until the last quarter of the book. Granted, that was probably the point. The story was really about Margaret and Andrew's marriage, and all the restrictions placed on her by the culture, family expectations, and even what she let herself fall victim to. The husband, Andrew, is never abusive, but his personality dominates everything, including the story itself. And it ends so abruptly. Really extraordinary writing, though. Not sure I really liked the characters.
elfygirl45's review
4.0
Private Life hits some of the most important milestones of the late 1800s to WWII. The main character grows up, gets married, and leads the typical housewife life. She learns to ride a bicycle, survives the great influenza, and learns of U.S. concentration camps for the Japanese through WWII. It's just a historical novel, but it's more interesting than many others I've read.
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